Immigrants to get help from diocese

News-Times, The (Danbury, CT), Elizabeth Putnam THE NEWS-TIMES

Published 12:00 am, Sunday, March 19, 2006

Even though residents in the heavily Catholic Danbury area have mixed feelings about immigration, the Diocese of Bridgeport is single-minded about the need to help newcomers adjust to life in Fairfield County.

By July, representatives from
Catholic Charities
, an arm of the diocese, will submit a detailed report to Bishop
William Lori
outlining the needs of immigrants. The goal is to launch a number of initiatives, which could include counseling programs, medical services and English education.

The goal is not to duplicate services already provided in Fairfield County. Instead, Catholic Charities hopes to "fill in the gaps," said

to obtain certification that will allow Catholic Charities to help immigrants navigate the legal system, said
Bill Hoey
, vice president of Catholic Charities. The diocese will not necessarily provide immigrants with lawyers, but will help file paperwork and answer questions about citizenship, he said.

The Diocese of Bridgeport likely will not discriminate between immigrants who are here legally and those who are illegal when it comes to helping people in need.

"We are taking a pastoral approach. When people ask for help, we want to help them," Hoey said.

But that doesn't sit will with
Elise Marciano
and members of the Danbury-based group
U.S. Citizens
for Immigration Law Enforcement who say the
Catholic Church
is only adding to the problems in the Danbury area.

There has been widespread concern that the thousands of immigrants who have come to the region in the past decade or so are overwhelming local services and schools. There have also been complaints about day laborers gathering in city parks and large numbers of immigrants packing into single-family homes and creating fire hazards.

"I don't think the (Catholic) Church has to make it their mission. These people are already being given all of this treatment," said Marciano. "The impact these people are making on our communities is horrible. Just walk down Main Street. You can't read at least 10 of the storefronts" because the words are in Spanish or Portuguese.

Marciano and her group want tighter border security and for authorities to arrest undocumented aliens, employers who hire them and people who harbor them. She does not want her church coming to their assistance.

Marciano, a member of St. Joseph's Parish in Danbury, spoke to her pastor, the Rev.
Michael Dogali
, on Thursday and expressed her concerns. She also plans to write a letter to Bishop Lori and will refuse to give money to Catholic Charities if her money goes to immigrant programs. "This has got to stop. Helping them won't get rid of the problem," she said.

Danbury Mayor
Mark Boughton
has also been outspoken about the impact of unchecked immigration on Danbury. He said he would be hesitant to support the diocese's initiatives unless they were for basic services.

"You don't want to encourage people to enter the country illegally," Boughton said. "There's a balance you have to strike there."

Danbury officials estimate there are between 9,000 and 20,000 illegal immigrants in Danbury. Thousands more are here legally, making the city a prime community for immigrant services from Catholic Charities.

Arevall, an El Salvador native who has lived in the United States for 16 years, and his co-worker,
Edith Cassidy
, a social justice advocate for Catholic Charities, are traveling to every parish in the diocese to discuss what services clergy believe are needed.

"I have gone through the (immigration) process, so I have a sense of what needs to be done," Arevall said.

The two stopped in Danbury earlier this month to talk to clergy at the city's parishes and at some of the parishes in neighboring communities.

The Rev.
Hector Leon
, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Danbury, is working with Arevall and Cassidy to determine immigrant needs. Most of Leon's 1,000 parishioners are immigrants and all speak Spanish.

Leon said through a translator that he hopes the initiatives help immigrants understand American laws and help them learn English. "I help immigrants because they are people," he said.

The Rev.
Angelo Arrando
, pastor of St. Gregory the Great Parish in Danbury, gave Arevall and Cassidy a list of services he would like to see, including a legal clinic, medical clinic, English classes, a cooperative for day laborers, an ombudsman for heath care needs and a safe haven for youth.

But the most important service is "to put a face to immigration so it's not just an issue, it's about real people," said Arrando, whose congregation of 2,000 families includes some immigrants.

Arrando said the initiative by the Bridgeport Diocese is easy to criticize, but that helping immigrants adjust and understand their rights will only make the situation better for both sides.

"The problem of immigration does not lie with the immigrants, but with the federal government. We have a broken policy," Arrando said.

The diocese's efforts mirror a national push by Catholic leaders to launch and enhance immigration programs. They also are urging Catholics to support immigration reform that is humane.

In May, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops officially launched a national campaign called "Justice for Immigrants: A Journey of Hope" to push for a broad legalization program and comprehensive immigration reform.

One of the campaign's goals is to try to change laws "so that immigrants can support their families in dignity, families can remain united, and the human rights of all are respected," Cardinal
Theodore E. McCarrick
of Washington, D.C., said when the campaign was announced. "However, before we can change our laws we must also change attitudes, including those of many of our own flock."

Catholic clergy in suburban Danbury, where few immigrants live, nevertheless support the efforts to help newcomers. They say the church is good way to reach immigrants because many of them are Catholic. They also say it's part of the faith to help the downtrodden.

Monsignor
Edward Karl
, pastor of St.
Mary Parish
in Bethel, said he fears that immigrants, whether they are legal citizens or not, are being exploited. "We have to protect these people," Karl said.

The Rev.
Robert Weiss
, pastor of St. Rose of Lima in Newtown, said although the town's immigrant population is small, the area needs better health care services, programs for women and other programs to help immigrants.

"The Catholic Church was founded in America to deal with the immigrant population," Weiss said. "That's not going to change now."